In Little Falls, a Democratic Freeholder is an independent mayoral candidate

One race worth watching is in Little Falls, where Democrat-turned-Independent James Gallagher, a Passaic County Freeholder since 1997, is running for Mayor. If he wins, he’ll need to resign his county post — but that’s not a huge deal, since Democrats have been preparing to dump him from the organization line in 2009 anyway. The Democratic County Committee would meet in January to select a new Freeholder to serve the remaining year of his term. Gallagher faces Democrat John Agostinelli, a former Councilman, and Republican Mike DeFrancisci, a retired policeman and DEA agent in the race to succeed Mayor Eugene Kulick, a Republican who is not seeking re-election.

Gallagher is the son-in-law of former Paterson Mayor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat Kramer.